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ELRCOtherELRC Cause (Nairobi) - Preliminary Objection dated 20th March 2025· [2025] KEELRC 1889 (KLR)

Banking Insurance & Finance Union v Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) (Cause E067 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 1889 (KLR)

Employment and Labour Relations Court
27 June 2025
SRStella Rutto
1,237 words in judgment
View original judgmentRead on Kenya Law Watch case
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The bottom line

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Kenya's Employment Court ruled a union can pursue a new claim over a 2013 CBA pay increment because it differs from an earlier case about a different CBA.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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The Respondent, Agricultural Finance Corporation, filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 20th March 2025 seeking to strike out the Claimant union's suit with costs on the ground that it is res judicata, having been fully determined in Nairobi ELRC Cause No. E140 of 2024, Banking, Insurance, Finance Union (Kenya) v Agricultural Finance Corporation. The objection was canvassed by written submissions. The court framed a single issue: whether the Claim is res judicata under Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act. The court restated the doctrine's objective of barring multiplicity of suits and guaranteeing finality, and adopted the Court of Appeal's conjunctive elements in Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission v Maina Kiai & 5 others: the matter must have been directly and substantially in issue in a former suit between the same parties litigating under the same title, heard and finally determined by a competent court. The Claimant conceded the parties were similar but maintained that the cause of action differed, as it seeks to enforce the CBA signed on 19th November 2013 and registered in 2014, specifically clause 12(1) providing for a 5% annual increment, whereas the former suit concerned the enforceability of the 2017/2021 CBA executed on 15th December 2021. Finding the two suits to involve different subject matters, the court held the Claim is not res judicata, overruled the Preliminary Objection, and ordered that costs shall be in the cause. Judgment was delivered at Nairobi on 27th June 2025 by Stella Rutto, Judge.

Key legal issues

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01

Whether the Claim is res judicata under Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act

Holding

The Claim is not res judicata because it concerns a different subject matter (the 2013 CBA annual increment) from the former suit (enforceability of the 2017/2021 CBA)

Reasoning

Applying the conjunctive elements in IEBC v Maina Kiai, the court compared the dispute in the Claim with that in Nairobi ELRC Cause No. E140 of 2024. The former suit concerned enforceability of the CBA executed on 15th December 2021, whereas the instant Claim seeks enforcement of the CBA registered in 2014 and its clause 12(1) 5% annual increment. Since the issues in dispute are not similar, the res judicata bar is not satisfied.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • The elements of res judicata under Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act are conjunctive and must all be satisfied for the bar to be upheld
  • The objective of res judicata is to bar multiplicity of suits and guarantee finality to litigation

Court orders

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  1. 1.The Preliminary Objection dated 20th March 2025 is overruled
  2. 2.Costs shall be in the cause

Authorities

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Legislation

  • Civil Procedure Act (Chapter 21 of the Laws of Kenya)Section 7
  • Civil Procedure Act (Chapter 21 of the Laws of Kenya)Section 1B
  • Civil Procedure RulesOrder 21 Rule 1
  • Constitution of KenyaArticle 159(2)(d)
  • Constitution of KenyaArticle 48

Cases cited (1)

  • Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission vs Maina Kiai & 5 others
    [2017] eKLR
Jurisdiction invoked
Employment and Labour Relations Court jurisdiction over the Claim; objection based on Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Banking Insurance & Finance Union v Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) (Cause E067 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 1889 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). ELRC Cause (Nairobi) - Preliminary Objection dated 20th March 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1889/eng@2025-06-27

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.